Letter: HB antigen in saliva

Epidemiologic study of hepatitis B in pregnant Korean women

The positive rates of hepatitis B viral markers according to many epidemiologic factors were analyzed in 2,873 pregnant women who delivered at St. Columban’s Hospital in Mokpo City from April 1st, 1985 to March 31st, 1986.

The following results were obtained: The overall HBsAg positivity in all pregnant women was 8.3%. The positive rate of HBsAg was unrelated to age. It was 13.2% in the 11–20 year age group. 12.5% in the 31–40 year age group, 7.8% in the 21–30 year age group and 0.0% in the 41–50 year age group. The positive rate of HBsAg was slightly related to locality. It was a little higher in women who grew up in rural areas (8.6%) than in urban areas (7.7%). The positive rate of HBsAg was unrelated to educational background. The positive rate of HBsAg was unrelated to economic status. It was 8.7% in the highest income group and 8.6% in the lowest income group. The positive rate of HBsAg was higher in cases who had injections more than four times. The positive rate of HBsAg was higher, but not significantly, in cases who had received blood transfusion. The positive rate of HBsAg was higher, but not significantly, in cases who had more than three siblings (0.05

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Detection of hepatitis B surface antigen in the saliva of patients with acute hepatitis B, and of chronic carriers

Hepatitis B surface antigen was detected by radioimmunoassay in the saliva of 11 of 25 patients with hepatitis B, for periods of up to 23 days after the onset of illness. It was also detected in the saliva of three of five chronic carriers. The presence of this antigen in the saliva may be an important factor in non-parenteral transmission of hepatitis B.